Best POSB & DBS Credit Cards in Singapore – Credit Card Reviews 2020

Even though our beloved DBS is the most popular savings bank in Singapore, up until a few years ago you would not have associated them with good credit cards. Nobody ever flaunted their DBS credit cards the way rich and successful people did their Amex or Citibank plastic.

But DBS has since caught up. They’ve revamped some DBS credit cards to be much more attractive than before, and pumped in a lot of marketing dollars around them to boot. Check out the best DBS & POSB credit cards below:

 

Best POSB & DBS credit cards in Singapore 2020

Here’s a quick look at 6 major POSB & DBS credit cards in Singapore, and what they’re best for:

POSB / DBS credit card	Key benefits
DBS Live Fresh Card	5% cashback online & contactless payment
POSB Everyday Card	Cashback at Sheng Siong, Watsons & SPC with no min. spend
DBS Altitude Card	$1 = 1.2 miles (local) / 2 miles (overseas) / 3 or more miles (online travel bookings)
DBS Woman’s Card	$1 = 2 miles on online spending
DBS Black Card	$1 = 1.2 miles on contactless payment
DBS Esso Card	18% upfront discount at Esso

 

DBS Live Fresh Card – 5% cashback for online & offline spending

Clearly targeted at millennials with its snazzy card design, the DBS Live Fresh Card offers an all-rounded 5% cash rebate on both online and offline purchases. Not only can you use it on the ASOS sale and on Grab rides, you can also swipe it at Koi, McDonald’s, and whatever other merchants accept Visa PayWave.

But be aware of the minimum spend as well as the $20/$20/$20 split caps which are quite a pain in the ass to manage. They prohibit you from spending too much in any one category.

Promo alert: If you don’t have this card yet, now (until 30 Jun 2020) is a great time to sign up because DBS is offering 10% cashback instead of 5% for the first 2 months. Cashback is also capped at $80 instead of $60. Plus, if this is your first DBS/POSB credit card, you get a bonus $50 cashback.

See the full review of the DBS Live Fresh Card here.

Key features:

• Get 5% on online spending & offline contactless payment
• Online spending includes online shopping, travel bookings, food delivery, movie tickets, etc.
• Minimum spend $600 a month
• Cashback cap of $20 (online spend) + $20 (contactless payment) + $20 (all other spend)

Essential info:

• Minimum income: $30,000 (Singaporean & PR) / $45,000 (foreigner)
• Annual fee: $192.60 (waived for first year)

 

POSB Everyday Card – 5% cashback at Sheng Siong with no min. spend

If the task of paying for your household’s groceries, petrol, utilities and telco bills falls to you, the POSB Everyday Card is an underrated card that can help out with the expenses. 

My favourite thing about it is that there’s no minimum spending requirement, and some of the cash rebates don’t even have caps.

See the full review of the POSB Everyday Card for more details.

Key features:

• 5% cashback at Sheng Siong
• 3% cashback at Watsons (3%)
• 1% cashback for electricity and telco (Starhub) bills
• Up to 20.1% savings at SPC
• No minimum spend

Essential info:

• Minimum income: $30,000 (Singaporean & PR) / $45,000 (foreigner)
• Annual fee: $192.60 (waived for first year)

 

DBS Altitude Card – $1 = 3 miles for online travel bookings

With its low entry point, first year annual fee waiver and miles that don’t expire, the DBS Altitude Card is one of the best “starter” air miles card for fresh grads dreaming of their next trip, but need to stick to a budget.

In general, the base accrual rate for local ($1 = 1.2 miles) and overseas spending (2 miles) isn’t fantastic… but if you’re a budget traveller, you can take advantage of the better earn rates for online travel bookings.

For each dollar spent on accommodation and flights online, you earn a much better 3 miles. If you book on Expedia or Kaligo, the earn rate is even better: $1 = 6 and 10 miles respectively.

Read the full review of the DBS Altitude Card here.

Key features:

• Earn 1.2 miles per $1 spent locally
• Earn 2 miles per $1 spent overseas
• Earn 3 miles per $1 spent online on flights, hotels, Airbnb etc. (up to $5,000 a month )
• Earn miles fastest if you book on Kaligo ($1 = 10 miles) and Expedia ($1 = 6 miles)
• Free Priority Pass airport lounge access (2 visits per year)
• No minimum spend
• Miles don’t expire

Essential info:

• Minimum income: $30,000 (Singaporean & PR) / $45,000 (foreigner)
• Annual fee: $192.60 (waived for first year)

 

DBS Woman’s Card – $1 = 2 miles for online spending

If you’re the type who buys everything online, the DBS Woman’s Card is a viable alternative for earning miles with your local spending (or you can always exchange the rewards points for anything you fancy). There’s no minimum spending requirement which is nice too.

Don’t be put off by the name – men can sign up for it too.

Key features:

• 5X rewards ($1 = 2 miles) on online spending (capped at $1,000 a month)
• Includes online shopping, travel bookings, food delivery, movie tickets, groceries, etc.
• No minimum spend

Essential info:

• Minimum income: $30,000 (Singaporean) / $45,000 (foreigner)
• Annual fee: $160.50 (waived for first year)

Note: There’s an “upsized” version of the card if you’re earning at least $80,000 a year, called the DBS Woman’s World Card. It gives you basically double the rewards points and expenditure cap.

 

DBS Black Card – rewards card for offline spending

If you prefer offline shopping, you’re probably better off with the DBS Black Card, a rewards card that lets you earn 3X rewards ($1 = 1.2 miles) on local contactless payment. That means Visa payWave and mobile payments, which are accepted by many major retailers, supermarkets and restaurants these days.

Although this isn’t as impressive as DBS Live Fresh’s 5% cashback on contactless payments, there’s no minimum spend and no cap on this credit card, making it quite a good, low-hassle alternative for general spending.

Read our full review of the DBS Black Card here.

Key features:

• 3X rewards ($1 = 1.2 miles) on contactless payments
• No minimum spend, no cap

Essential info:

• Minimum income: $30,000 (Singaporean) / $45,000 (foreigner)
• Annual fee: $192.60 (waived for first year)

 

DBS Esso Card – 18% instant petrol discount 

The DBS Esso Card doesn’t give you the absolute highest savings in Singapore, but it makes a great petrol credit card for lazy people like me. You get instant savings of 18% – no need to game the system for maximum rebates. There’s also no minimum spend and no cashback cap. 

If you really want to maximise your discounts, though, you can always check the DBS Esso Card page for the latest promotions. Typically it’s a bonus rebate that is awarded if you hit the minimum spend for X months consecutively.

Read our post if you want to find 0ut which are the best petrol credit cards in Singapore.

Key features:

• Generous upfront petrol discount of 18% at Esso
• No minimum spend or cashback cap

Essential info:

• Minimum income: $30,000 (Singaporean & PR) / $45,000 (foreigner)
• Annual fee: $192.60 (waived for first year)

 

Other DBS credit cards in Singapore

DBS Takashimaya Card: Spend at Takashimaya to earn Takashimaya vouchers

DBS NUS Alumni & NUSS Cards: For NUS alumni only

SAFRA DBS Card: For SAFRA members only

DBS Live Fresh Student Card: For students only

Do you use DBS or POSB credit cards? Tell us why or why not in the comments!